Time Stands Still
by digitalmonster911
Summary: My first Tokyo Mew Mew fanfic. It's an IchigoxRyou fanfic, and it's got character death. It's not that gruesome, but be warned! Songfic, but the song doesn't appear until later in the story.


Time Stands Still

Time Stands Still

Okay, I'm now seriously into Tokyo Mew Mew. I love the coupling of Ryou x Ichigo, so I thought I'd do a tragedy on them, since most of them aren't even sad. So here it is: a songfic (though I didn't plan on it being one to begin with) with the song Time Stands Still by The All-American Rejects. I love this song and it reminded me so much of these two. The song won't start until later in the fic, by the way. I thought I needed an introduction first.

Disclaimer: In no way do I own Tokyo Mew Mew or its characters.

"SHIROGANE! _Why_ do you have to be such a jerk? At least put on a shirt!" 16 year old Momomiya Ichigo yelled. Her long red hair, grown out since the "saving the world" days, hung in her face as she yelled at her arrogant boss. 19 year old Shirogane Ryou smirked, his blonde hair flopping in front of his clear aquamarine eyes.

"Oh, come on, Strawberry," he teased, using his pet name for her. "You know you like it," he added, chuckling as he indicated his bare (and muscular) chest confidently.

It was another day at Café Mew Mew, where Ichigo and her friends worked. The pink castle shaped café was the hot spot to a lot of couples and girls who liked the décor. The regular customers were used to listening to the cat-infused girl and her smug boss. In fact, a lot of them tried to get to the café early just so they could hear the two argue. It was their entertainment for the day.

Once again, Ichigo had barged into Ryou's room upstairs without knocking, demanding a raise. In addition, Ryou had once again, been wearing nothing but a pair of tracksuit pants.

"Why should I give you a raise?" Ryou now demanded of Ichigo. "You're always late and slacking off!"

This was, in part, true. Ichigo had been late for work that morning. And the morning before that. And the morning before that…in fact, the last time that Momomiya Ichigo had been on time for work was…well, no one can actually remember.

"So what?" Ichigo shot back. "I work harder than anyone else here! All Mint does is sit down and drink the tea that _I_ bring her! Retasu only breaks plates, which comes out of _my_ paycheck! And who cleans it up? _Me_. Purin spends her time performing little circus tricks, not working, and all Zakuro does is glare at the customers and scares them away! I'm the only one that actually works!" Ichigo cried.

This, also, was true. The rest of Ichigo's friends only made her job harder, and caused Ryou to yell at her. Yet, Ryou didn't yell at them. He came down on _her_. It just wasn't fair. As if she didn't have enough to deal with already. However, of course, Ryou didn't know that.

Downstairs, Fujiwara Zakuro rolled her eyes. "Are they _ever_ going to stop arguing?"

Aizawa Mint raised her eyebrows. "I don't think so, onee-sama. It's all they ever do."

Midorikawa Retasu joined in. "Ichigo-san and Shirogane-san have a sort of love-hate relationship," she pointed out with a blush. Fong Purin agreed.

"Purin thinks it's more hate than love, Lettuce onee-chan, na no da!" she told them, and the rest of the Mews agreed. Just then Akasaka Keiichiro walked in.

"And what, may I ask, are you four doing?" he asked suspiciously. The four Mews shushed him as they motioned him to listen to Ichigo raging at Ryou.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Mint pointed out and everyone nodded in agreement.

Back upstairs, Ryou had given up listening to Ichigo. He sat back down at his computer, clicking every now and then. It took Ichigo a few moments to realize that he wasn't listening to her.

"Shirogane, are you even listening to me?" the frustrated red head demanded of him.

"No," Ryou replied indifferently. Ichigo growled angrily.

"You know what?" she cried, and Ryou was shocked to see tears springing to her eyes. They argued like this everyday, but surely their friendly banter wasn't enough to bring tears to his Strawberry's eyes. Unless it wasn't as friendly as Ryou had thought. He made to stand up, but Ichigo forcibly pushed him back down.

"Listen to me, god dammit!" she screamed at him. "Everyday, all I get from you is you telling me to work, you never give me a raise, I do my best, and yet you continue to yell at me! I'm sick of it! Aoyama-kun broke up with me, and you know why? Because I don't have enough time for him anymore, because I'm stuck here working for a jerk of a boss who won't pay me for all I do. My father has recently been diagnosed with cancer, and my once cheerful mother has disappeared. That's right, _gone_. She's run off because _she_ can't take it anymore, and I'm starting to wonder why I'm still here too! I can't take it anymore! I QUIT!" she yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I quit this job; I quit being everyone's toy that they can boss around; I QUIT LIFE!"

And with that, she ran out.

Ryou just sat there in shock. Some part of his numb brain told him that he should go after her, to make sure she didn't do anything stupid, but he was still trying to comprehend what had happened and what Ichigo had screamed at him. One minute she was shouting at him, the next she was gone.

_Him and her,_

_Life is turned._

"Ryou?" Keiichiro poked his head around the door. "Momomiya-san just ran out of the café. What's wrong?"

Ryou broke out of his trance. Bolting up, he sprinted out of his room and down the stairs without answering Keiichiro. Ryou ran past the other Mews without a word, ignoring their cries of "Shirogane-san! What's wrong?"

He pushed open the front doors of Café Mew Mew and paused outside for a moment.

_The day I knew you would leave,_

_I can barely breathe._

_Oh great_, Ryou thought to himself as he stared at the dark grey sky. _It's raining. She'll probably catch a cold_.

He quickly ran out into the rain, calling for Ichigo. He neared the sidewalk and caught a flash of ruby, Ichigo's hair color.

_Can you hear me scream?_

"ICHIGO!" Ryou yelled out to her, but she didn't turn, just kept on running. "Ichigo! Come back, you'll catch a cold you baka!"

No response. Not even a flicker of recognition.

_You,_

_Thrown in all directions._

_You,_

_Epitome of perfection._

Ryou continued running after Ichigo, calling her name. She didn't look back at him, but he didn't give up.

"Ichigo! Come on, let's talk about this!"

_She's lost her will,_

_Time is standing still._

POV: Ichigo

I ran, blinded by my own tears, I ran. I could hear Shirogane calling my name behind me, but I didn't stop. I'd had enough. I'd lost any will I had to live. My life was laying in pieces around my feet, and I didn't know how to put it back together anymore.

_He walks,_

_Her home._

_Now he walks,_

_Alone._

POV: Ryou

I stopped, my hands on my knees, bent double, panting for breath. "Ichigo!" I called, but she didn't stop. She ran down the sidewalk, deaf to my shouting.

_The days,_

_They turn into years._

_The eyes,_

_They drown in tears._

I couldn't see my Strawberry's face, and I knew that even if I could, I probably wouldn't be able to tell whether she was crying or whether it was the rain. I knew, though, that she'd lost it. The usual carefree, cheerful and happy Ichigo was gone. She was crying endlessly, and I could do nothing to stop her.

_Can you hear me scream?_

POV: Ichigo

I couldn't hear Ryou's footsteps following me anymore. _He's given up, _I thought with satisfaction. I ran out onto the street.

"ICHIGO!" I heard behind me. I frowned. He hadn't given up, after all. Damn.

I was so focused on my own thoughts that I didn't hear the truck that was driving up behind me. I turned at the last second, smiling slightly, welcoming the pain and black oblivion that was coming to take me away…

_You,_

_Thrown in all directions._

_You,_

_Epitome of perfection._

_She's lost her will,_

_Time is standing still._

POV: Ryou

"ICHIGO!" I cried out at the top of my voice as I spotted the truck driving up behind her. She'd stopped in the middle of the road, and seemed to be thinking intently. Because it was raining, the truck didn't see her properly. She turned just as it was about to hit, and I could have sworn I saw a flicker of a smile cross her face before it hit her full on.

"ICHIGO!" I screamed, running towards her. The truck screeched as the driver slammed on the brakes, but all I saw was my Strawberry, lying sprawled on the ground, a steady stream of blood leaking from her head.

_The way we are the way we were,_

_It's just a shadow of what's wrong._

As I reached her, her head turned towards me. She smiled.

"Don't be sad, Shirogane," she told me. "I wanted it, after all."

"No, Ichigo," I sobbed. I hadn't even realized up until then that I was crying. "Hold, on, you'll be okay."

_The time with you the time is stirred,_

_I love you for so long._

"Shirogane."

Her voice was faint. I leaned closer to her mouth to hear her better.

"Shiro…gane…"

"Ichigo, hang on. Just hold on, we'll get through this," I told her, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. It was stuck to it with blood.

"Ryou…"

My breath caught it my throat. She'd never called me Ryou before. _Ever_.

_The hearts they turn, they turn away._

_She says to go please don't you cry._

"Please…don't cry. Not…for…me…"

"Ichigo, no! Stay here!"

"Leave me. I…am…happy."

"NO! ICHIGO!" I screamed. Her eyes closed and she stopped breathing.

_Love lost was found,_

_Night turns to day._

"NO! No, no, no, no, no. Ichigo!"

"Let the ambulance come through, son," someone told me.

"No…Ichigo."

Someone took hold of my arm, and someone else took my other one. They hauled me to my feet and pulled me away from Ichigo, me struggling, trying to break free from their grasp.

"Ichigo!"

_You,_

_Thrown in all directions._

_You,_

_Epitome of perfection._

_She's lost her will,_

_Time is standing still._

POV: Third Person

As Retasu and Zakuro pulled Ryou away from Ichigo's body and let the ambulance workers come through with the stretcher, Mint was holding Purin as the younger girl sobbed into her skirt, tears streaming down her own face. Keiichiro was trying to stop Ryou from breaking free of the girls, his face a picture of sorrow. Ryou was doing his best to run back to Ichigo, not even registering what was happening. Tears mixed with rain and sweat fell from his face.

_You,_

_Thrown in all directions._

_You,_

_Epitome of perfection._

When they got to the hospital, they were told it was already too late. Ichigo was dead even as the ambulance staff loaded her on to the stretcher and into the ambulance. Ryou sat in a chair beside her bed, his head in his hands. Keiichiro had gone back to the café, to close it and keep everything running smoothly. Zakuro had, for once, succumbed to tears, and was hugging Mint as they cried together for their lost friend. Retasu was staring disbelievingly at Ichigo's lifeless form, as if she could not believe that she was actually dead. Tears were slowly making their way down her face. Purin was standing next to her, patting her friend on the back, her tears dried on her face.

_She's lost her will,_

_Time is standing still._

"Minto onee-chan, Zakuro onee-chan, Lettuce onee-chan, I want to go home," Purin wailed, and the four Mews made their way to the door. They all took a last look at Ryou, who hadn't spoken since they had arrived at the hospital. He didn't look up as they left, but raised his head when they had gone. He stared with unseeing eyes at Ichigo's pale form, not quite believing what he was seeing. His once vivacious Strawberry had disappeared, replaced with a lifeless statue. It felt wrong.

_You,_

_You,_

_You,_

_Time is standing still._

He hovered above her bed, thinking about what he was about to do. Countless times he had kissed her to tease her, transforming her into a cat for his own amusement. Now, however, it was different. Ryou supposed it was true that you never knew what you had until you lost it. And he'd lost his Strawberry. Granted, he never had her in the first place. But somehow, he had always taken it for granted that she was his.

He moved his lips until they rested just above hers.

"I'm sorry, Ichigo."

He pressed his lips to her cold ones one last time, then walked out of her room.

The next day…

"_We have the latest report from the police. It appears that millionaire Shirogane Ryou had committed suicide earlier today. Rumors floating around about his death are questioning as to why the famous creator of the Mew Project__ killed himself. His best friend and legal guardian Akasaka Keiichiro refuses to give any details or information regarding Shirogane-san's death, but the police are wondering whether it had something to do with his late employee and leader of the Mew team, Momomiya Ichigo's death. Fujiwara Zakuro, famous idol and singer, was the only one of the remaining Mew Mews to speak to the press, telling them that 'if you had any heart at all, you'd leave us alone.' Angry words from Fujiwara-san…"_

Fin

Oh my God, it's so sad, but it had to be done. I love the song, and it matched what I had in mind perfectly. R&R!


End file.
